Washington, Dec. 7: The Bush administration is preparing to present President-elect Barack Obama with a lengthy, classified strategy review aimed at reversing the gains that militants have made in destabilizing Afghanistan and Pakistan.

To be presented to Obama''s top national security advisers in the next week or two, the review is expected to contain several options, including telling Pakistan''s military that if it wants billions of dollars in American aid will depend on the military''s being reconfigured to effectively fight militants.

Sydney, Dec. 7 : Out of favour Australian left-arm swing bowler Nathan Bracken is trying to force his way back into the Australian Test squad as a spinner.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Bracken, who was ranked the world''s No. 1 one-day bowler, has secretly been working on his spinners in the nets and is hoping to unleash them soon in a game.

"I''ve been practising them a fair bit. I''ve been bowling them at training but the hardest thing has been trying to get the chance to bowl them in a game," he told the Sun Herald.

During the last Sheffield Shield game against Tasmania, where Bracken took a match total of eight wickets, he asked Blues skipper Dominic Thornely for the chance to bowl spin in the second innings.

London, Dec 7 : Controversial comic Russell Brand has won the best live stand-up comedian at the British Comedy Awards last night.

Sydney, Dec. 7 : Former Australian captain and opener Bobby Simpson expects current opener Simon Katch to maintain technical poise and adapt a simple approach while dealing with the South African pace trio of Dale Steyn, Makhaya Ntini and Morne Morkel during the upcoming Test series.

"I''m very pleased and proud of what he''s been able to do. He''s a lad who''s approached the job in the simplest possible way, which is the way I like it. He''s sorted out the technical things we''ve talked about and he''s now doing them exactly as we planned about two years ago. I''ve got great pleasure from that, the Sydney Morning Herald quoted Simpson, as saying.

New York, December 7 : President-elect Barack Obama’s speechwriter has sent an apology to Hillary Clinton for stretching out to feel a cardboard imitation of the junior United States Senator.

Jon Favreau, who has been appointed as the director of White House speechwriting, had been snapped as he was touching the lively reproduction of Clinton at a recent gathering.

The 27-year-old’s inappropriate photo had hit cyberspace through Facebook though it was later pulled off, reports the New York Post.

Jammu, Dec. 7: As many as 3,023 public meetings and rallies have been organized in Jammu and Kashmir in this election season.

In Kashmir division, 1,641 rallies and 1,382 rallies in Jammu division have been organised by various political parties and candidates so far, since the announcement of Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir on October 19.

In total there were 525 mega rallies, out of which 280 were organized in Kashmir division and 245 in Jammu division.